A survey of 5,000 survivors of rape found that only one in 10 would report again, and three-quarters of respondents said their mental health was damaged ‘as a direct result of what police did, or failed to do, in their case.’
The survey carried out by academics as part of Operation Soteria showed that only 40% of respondents believe police are effectively handling sexual assault cases, and one in five survivors reported feeling pressured by officers to withdraw from their cases.
Operation Soteria, launched in 2023, aims to shifts the focus of investigations onto perpetrators rather than scrutinising victims’ behaviour. The survey found some evidence of improvements with Katrin Hohl, the lead researcher and the government’s independent adviser on rape saying ‘some victims are getting better service now, but not all… There are green shoots but there is clearly a long way to go.’
The End Violence Against Women Coalition have said that the survey exposed significant areas of concern including racial disparities in the way that survivors are treated by the police: ‘Black and minoritised survivors experienced significantly worse treatment by the police compared to white survivors, including victim-blaming and lack of attention to evidence – reflecting what we have long known about institutionalised racism in the culture of policing.’
Sarah Crew, the national police lead on rape and Operation Soteria, acknowledged that there was more work to be done in this area, telling The Guardian that ‘disadvantage, discrimination, and contextual incompetence are still being felt’
This research also found that victims remain frustrated with long waiting lists for support services, with nearly half reporting they lack timely access to services. Experts and officials continue to push for sustained funding and policy improvements, warning that without such commitments, any progress made by reforms like Operation Soteria could be at risk. Jess Philips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, told the Guardian ‘we are committed to using these insights to deliver lasting improvements in policing moving forwards, part of our wider mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.’
